History

Since its inception in 1994 by founders Louise Garfield, Robin Cass and Anna Stratton, Triptych Media has built an international reputation for original, provocative, high quality film and television entertainment. Beginning with the partnership forged during the post-production of John Greyson’s feature film, the groundbreaking musical ZERO PATIENCE, Triptych followed with the universally acclaimed LILIES, adapted from Michel Marc Bouchard’s popular and award-winning play directed by Greyson. LILIES was nominated for 14 Genie Awards and won four including Best Picture of the Year and went on to appear around the world garnering more prizes and becoming a cult classic.

In 1997, Thom Fitzgerald’s THE HANGING GARDEN, won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF, the first English language Canadian film to receive the honour. Reuniting with Michel Marc Bouchard, Triptych produced French and English television adaptations of his play THE TALE OF TEEKA or L’HISTOIRE DE L’OIE, which won the Banff Television Festival Rockie Award for Best Children’s Program as well as the Golden Spire at the San Francisco International Film Festival and two Gemeaux Awards. In the following year Triptych released the documentary OEDIPUS UNMASKED, a behind the scenes look at Stratford’s mounting of the famous play and executive produced the television special DANCES FOR A SMALL SCREEN.

Breaking into long-form television drama in the new millennium, Triptych co-produced with Germany THE BOOKFAIR MURDERS and with Alliance Atlantis, LUCKY GIRL, starring Elisha Cuthbert and Sherry Miller who both took home Gemini Awards for their performances.

The next few years brought films adapted from Canadian authors beginning with Tim Southam’s THE BAY OF LOVE AND SORROWS, based on David Adams Richard’s novel of the same name, which was proclaimed the “BEST CANADIAN FILM OF THE YEAR” by The Guardian. Barbara Gowdy’s FALLING ANGELS was brought to the big screen by director Scott Smith with a cast including Academy Award nominee, Miranda Richardson. The film was named to Canada’s Top Ten. Deepa Mehta directed an adaptation of Carol Shields’ THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE with Bruce Greenwood and Emilia Fox, which premiered as a Gala at TIFF.

Triptych brought beloved actor, director, writer, Gordon Pinsent’s HEYDAY! to the CBC. It won the Hugo Award for Excellence in Television at the Chicago International Festival. Triptych produced ADVENTURES IN CATERING, a reality series, for CanWest Global.

Triptych and Québec’s BBR Productions brought a star-studded cast to Paolo Barzman’s adaptation of Matt Cohen’s EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC including Academy Award winners Susan Sarandon and Christopher Plummer, Gabriel Byrne, Roy Dupuis and Academy Award nominee Max von Sydow. The film was TIFF’s Closing Night Gala and premiered in Europe at the San Sebastián Film Festival and was nominated for four Genie Awards.

After executive producing Richie Mehta’s debut feature AMAL, which was released to critical acclaim and six Genie Award nominations, Triptych completed work on Scott Smith’s AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE, a documentary which premiered at Hot Docs and featured acclaimed writer Ryan Knighton on a journey to Halberstadt, Germany to hear the note change on an organ built to play John Cage’s As Slow as Possible over the next 600 years.

Triptych brought together Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Eric McIntyre, Joe Anderson and Rossif Sutherland for Gary Yates’ HIGH LIFE, based on the hit play by Lee MacDougall, which premiered at the Panorama section of the Berlinale. It was nominated for five Genie Awards.

For a CBC Valentines Special, Triptych brought together Canadian acting couples Peter Keleghan and Leah Pinsent, Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath, the late Peter Donaldson and Sheila McCarthy, Carlo Rota and Nazneen Contractor in the Gordon Pinsent narrated LOVE LETTERS, directed by Tim Southam and based on the play by A.R. Gurney.

In 2012, ZERO PATIENCE and LILIES were part of IMPATIENT, a John Greyson retrospective curated by TIFF and the Art Gallery of Ontario.